Darn Cutworms 該死的﹗﹗﹗

Darn darn darn!!!!!!!

The stem is quite hard and about 1" thick,
that darn thing cut it down overnight.
(The date on this photo should be July 29, 2009)

Wrapping the other pepper plants with foil would help?
I doubt it, but one can hope for the best.
I ripped through the roots of the damaged plant
and dug around the planting area but couldn't find
that darn thing, where did it go?

The pepper plant was 2.5 ft (76.2 cm) tall.
I never found out which kind of pepper it was
because it just started to flower. The seed packet I got says
" Mix Fiery Hot Peppers" with photo of many different
kinds of hot chili peppers (look like habs) in the picture.
Aaarrrrrhhhhhh~~~~
Five and half months of work down the drain overnight!

This is the first year I ever had cutworm problems, they seem to pop everywhere including containers. So far I lost 2 tomatoes, 2 peppers, and 2 beans; don't ask me why the damage is in 2s, I don't know, maybe mom and pop worked together. I've yet to see one of those darn worms. Yeah I know, go outside with a flash light at night and look under the plants. No way, I "ain't gonna" do it. THE FIGHT GOES ON.

Yuzu and Kaffir Lime

Yuzu (柚子樹) --- this plant was purchased a year ago
from Nichol's Garden and Nursery in Oregon.

Kaffir lime (泰國檸檬樹) --- this plant was purchased 2 years ago
from Four Winds Nursery in California. This is the first time
the tree produces fruits, there are several walnut size limes
on the tree this year.

Cracked Charentais Melon

Don't know why it cracked,
too much water, growing too fast, stress (from what)?

Fragrant, thick flesh, small cavity, thin skin, juicy, and sweet.
(We ate the first melon with ice cream, forgot to take pictures.)

Saw the crack this morning, too much stress from hanging?
This one weights about 3 pounds.

Update --- Thursday, July 30, 2009
I picked another melon that has split open this morning, I think I got it --- this type of melon begins to crack from the bottom instead of separating from the vine as it ripens, so the trick is to follow the fragrance and to watch out for hairline cracks on top and bottom of the melon. This is quite a labor intensive chore for the growers; since the melon is prone to cracking and does not transport well that explains why conventional markets do not carry the item.

The hybrid Charentais fare better in the ripening department, the fruit detaches from the vine easily without any cracks, I picked 4 this morning, that will be on another post later.

July Harvest - Week 4

Vendors are selling these delicate perishable squash blossoms at
$1-$3 a piece at farmers markets across the country. They are
delicious in salads, soups, stuffed, and fry -- as in tempura.

Two varieties each --- tomatoes, peppers, squashes, and eggplants.
I won't bore you with beans, cucumbers, and leafy greens, I pick them everyday.

Winter melon on the left, and chilacayote on the right. I bought the chilacayote at a Mexican market, I think Chinese calls it "shark fin melon" (魚翅瓜). I'll have to make soup with it to see if the meat separates into strands as in "shark fin".

Bitter melon grows like weeds, I have to throw some away due to overripe, the melons were bursting open with seeds. These will be dried for future use, one can only eat so much bitter melon in a week. Bitter melon is supposed to be good for controlling blood sugar, and it is often used by herbalists to treat diabetes. Hmmm, just wondering --- if the dried melon is ground into powder and packed into capsules, won't it be more convenient and easier to swallow a capsule instead of eating the veggie daily?

These are from the old house, no idea which variety of garlic this is. The seed bulbs were purchased from Corrales farmers market. I'm pleased with the production and size of the bulbs, the cloves are big. I'll probably grow it again if the name of the variety is known.

Soy Beans 毛荳

I sowed closed to 40 soy bean seeds this Spring, only 3 seeds sprouted, what happen? I don't think there is any problem with the seeds because the plants germinated are located at the end of the row, whereas the no shows are at the beginning of the row.

If the seeds were bad, germination would be sporadic and randomly located; maybe they were planted too close to the shallots and garlic. Sometime ago I read an article with a small blurb warning gardeners not to plant beans with alliums, but it never explained exactly why.

I did not think much about it until now --- the allium family probably exude some kind of chemical substance into the soil to inhibit the growth of legumes. Those bean seeds did not germinated were surrounded by garlic and shallots on two sides, whereas the ones that germinated were sided by garlic only, and there are marigolds between them. Hmmm, I know better next time not to companion plant them, it appears legumes don't like alliums.

Garlic Harvest July 2009

Harvest these garlic yesterday, it's easier to clean when
the outer skin is dried, you just rub it off.

Softneck Silver White Garlic --- too many small bulbs,
I will not grow it again.

Hardneck German Xtra Hard --- only 5 bulbs, don't know why,
but I'll give it another try later in the Fall. I believe this garlic
will produce big bulbs if given the right environment.

Hard (short neck) Asian Tempest --- best producer.
Most of the bulbs are big except few smaller ones,
I will grow it again.

I'll have to go check on the garlic at the old house this coming weekend, I expect them to be bigger and better than this bunch since they are from locally grown seeds.

Charentais Melon Is Ripening 嘿嘿嘿

This picture was taken around 7:00 this morning.

It turned pale yellow yesterday, today it smells fragrant,
I'm going to give it another day or two before harvesting.

American cantaloupe --- Sierra Gold

American cantaloupe --- Sierra Gold

Do you see the difference between the melon skins? The French melon (true melon) has smooth skin, the American cantaloupe (musk melon) has netlike skin.

July Harvest - Week 3

Red Amaranth --- Summer sow: 21 days from seed to harvest,
they like it hot and grow like weeds.

Left: American Cucumbers ---Spacemaster
Center: Summer Squashes ---Rond De Nice & Patty Pan
Right: Persian Cucumbers --- Green Fingers

Right: Ping Tung Eggplants (Thank you PF)
Left: Thai Eggplants (Thank you Tahai)

Haven't you seen enough beans and peppers? As of this date I have given away 4 bags of beans to friends and neighbors. The yard long beans and market size beans (foreground) will be preserved for future consumption. We like to eat the smaller "gourmet" size filet beans (upper left) fresh. Whole Foods is selling these gourmet (non-organic) filet beans at $5.99/lb , but they are not as fresh as our homegrown (organic) beans! That's enough reason to grow my own veggies.

Not in the pictures are green and white bitter melons, more beans and cucumbers, lettuces, bok choy, spinach, various basils and herbs. I pick them as I cook, no time (and not in the mood) for picture taking.

Taking Heat in Mid July

Chinese Pingtung Eggplant --- lots of fruits and doing well.
(Thank you PF)

Polish Opalka Paste Tomatoes --- ripening and loaded with toms.

White Bitter Melon --- lonely for now, others are coming.
(Thank you DD & PF)

Thai Eggplant --- fruiting and loaded with flowers.
(Thank you Tahai)

Charentais Melon OP --- just hanging in there.

Sun Pickles Day 2

Sunbathing Pickles
Recipe adapted from June Meyer's "Sun Dill Pickles"

Lacto fermentation is one of the oldest and easiest method of preserving harvest --- kimchi, sour mustard greens, sauerkraut, etc. It's a no brainer, you just toss all the ingredients together into a jar and set it aside at a shady place or in the sun and let the microbacteria do the job for you, no mess, no heating up the kitchen, not much to clean up afterwards, love this method.

Roasted Mix Pepper Hot Sauce

Jimmy Nardello, Jalapeno, Fresno, and Cherry Bomb peppers.

Roasted mix pepper hot sauce:
1. Lightly roast the peppers to soften the flesh.
2. Partially remove some seeds and blacken skin (optional).
3. Coarsely chop peppers in food processor, add Kosher salt and shallot oil, pulse to mix.
4. Pack the hot sauce into a clean container and top off with shallot oil to prevent mold.

This hot sauce is mild, smooth, and mellow, it can be combine with other ingredients to make a different flavor sauce.

Sun Dill Thai Devil 漬惡魔

Adapted from June Meyer's
Authentic Hungarian Sun Dill Pickles

I substitute hot peppers for cucumbers
and add garlic to the pickling liquid.
You may add a pea size alum to the mixture
if you want extra crunchy peppers.